


A Matter of Trust

by Triskelian



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Episode Related, Gen, POV Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-04
Updated: 2013-04-04
Packaged: 2017-12-07 11:45:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/748165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triskelian/pseuds/Triskelian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Events in the warehouse have Derek reconsidering some things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Matter of Trust

**Author's Note:**

> Teen Wolf and all related characters are property of Jeff Davis and MTV. No money has been made from my use of these characters.
> 
> In other words: Please don't sue me, Jeff:)
> 
> Derek's POV and thoughts in 'Master Plan', S2EP12.

Derek was wrong.

It happened a lot, more often than he likes to or will admit. Especially when it concerned other people. He conditioned himself to expect the worst from society. When he was fifteen, he realized that the only thing you could put any kind faith or trust in was family. Was pack. Eventually even that rug had been pulled out from under him.

He knew how treacherous people could be. It had been a hard set of lessons (the hardest), but he now knew the evil that lay in the hearts of men and werewolves. He knew the kind of poison a pretty face could hide. The kind of villainy that lurked behind a seemingly helpless facade.

Lately all Derek felt he really could trust was the evidence before his eyes. So he took it at face value when Scott said he'd join the pack, because Scott had never really been known for his cunning. And he had never felt more sure of himself than when he told Peter that Jackson wasn't known for having a heart. He would have said that he didn't know which one shocked him more, but deep down he knew that Scott would turn on him. That's what people did; they betrayed you. And so with Scott his faith was strengthened.

But Jackson... Jackson shook him to his core.

He watched in something like dread and... anger, as Stiles backed away and let Lydia just stand there, facing the kanima alone and unprotected. He was sure the girl was going to have her throat ripped out by those venomous claws, and everyone – himself especially – was too far away to defend her. But then, she held up that simple brass key, and... the kanima just – froze before plucking the key gently from Lydia's fingers. Then slowly, so slowly, the scales receded and left Jackson standing bare (body and soul) before Lydia, showing Derek that Jackson had a heart, after all. 

Derek heard a couple of the others give a sigh of relief, but he knew it wasn't over. He stood there shaking off the last traces of paralysis when Jackson looked over at him and nodded. Stepping back, Jackson closed his eyes and waited, ready to sacrifice himself rather than take the chance of changing again and hurting the girl in front of him. Hating himself, hating the position they all had been forced into, Derek ran across the open space to the teen, Peter mirroring his actions behind Jackson. Sinking his own claws home deep in Jackson's side, Derek looked up at the young man with regret.

_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

Derek wasn't sure if the silent apology was for his current actions, the way he had treated Jackson, not trying to build some kind of bond after giving him the bite. Maybe for even biting him in the first place and starting this chain of events. Maybe the apology was for everyone there, for being such a piss poor alpha.

Maybe it was for all of the above.

But then, as the shock of the night's events started to truly settle in, something of a miracle happened. His insecurities and fears of identity washed away by the – yes, all right Peter, the **bond** – that he had with Lydia, Jackson came back. And as a werewolf, no less.

And so the pack grew by one. At least, Derek could hope.

When he finally looked around at the other shell-shocked survivors in that warehouse, Derek paused on Scott and Stiles, the latter swiping his hand across his face, and thought hard about the past... well, the past year. About the mutual antagonism, the anger and accusations each side threw at the other like knives. Derek thought about Scott, opening his eyes to the truth of his uncle's treachery. He thought back to Stiles and the pool, declaring to the younger man “I don't trust you, you don't trust me”, but Stiles still not letting him drown.

And Derek thought about Scott not telling him about the plan he'd cooked up, and that Derek wasn't his alpha, and realized that underneath the satisfaction of being proven right, there was a pin prick of hurt made larger by the realization that Derek really hadn't given either of them a good enough reason to trust him, when they'd come through for him time and again. Derek knew the scales were weighed against him. But maybe he could start to try and balance things out. Deaton said that he had to trust someone. He had Issac. Maybe he had found two more people to trust. And maybe – just maybe – he dared to hope the pack would grow even more.

After all, he'd been wrong about people before.

**Author's Note:**

> So. My first TW fic!!!! Please let me know if you like it (and I hope you do!).
> 
> You can also find me on [Tumblr](http://bloominheather.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](http://twitter.com/bloomin_heather) . I'm also on AOL IM, username: BloomingHeather.
> 
>  **UPDATE:** A belated thanks to my lovely [thehappyfangirl](thehappyfangirl.tumblr.com) for being my beta on this fic. You rock!!!:)


End file.
